Cardinal leaves complicated legacy
PHILADELPHIA -- Church leaders called on parishioners Wednesday to pray for the soul of retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led them for more than 15 years but was also an uncharged central figure in a child sex-abuse case that involves the alleged shuffling of predator priests.
Bevilacqua, who was 88, died in his sleep at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood after battling dementia and an undisclosed form of cancer, according to archdiocese spokeswoman Donna Farrell. He had been the spiritual leader of the 1.5 million-member Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput encouraged all Catholics to "join me in praying for the repose of his soul."
"Cardinal Bevilacqua has been called home by God; a servant of the Lord who loved Jesus Christ and His people," Chaput said in a statement.
"Cardinal Bevilacqua's death comes at a time when the Archdiocese is facing extraordinary challenges," Chaput said. "During this difficult period, I invite all of our people to come together in prayer for a renewal of our Church and Her mission."
Bevilacqua, trained in both civil and canon law, was sharply criticized but never charged by two Philadelphia grand juries investigating child sex abuse complaints lodged against dozens of priests in the archdiocese. His death comes just days after lawyers battled in court over his competency as a potential witness in the upcoming trial of a longtime aide.
Bevilacqua, a native of Brooklyn, was ordained a priest in 1949. He had also led the Pittsburgh archdiocese and served as auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn.
As a church leader, Bevilacqua campaigned for a moratorium on the death penalty and often spoke out against homosexuality, birth control and abortion. He headed the influential bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
He was not averse to new methods of outreach. Heeding the pope's call for a "New Evangelization," Bevilacqua used then-novel methods, such a toll-free confession line, a live weekly radio call-in program and an online forum for people to pose questions to priests.
"We are carrying out the wishes of the Holy Father for a new evangelization, reaching out to people like never before," Bevilacqua said after a telephone hotline began in 1998.
At the same time, attendance at weekly Mass and Catholic school enrollment was falling in some parts of the archdiocese, leading him to close inner-city schools and parishes. The decline continues. The five-county archdiocese just this month announced plans to close 48 schools, displacing nearly 24,000 students.
Pope Benedict XVI expressed "sadness" and sent condolences to the archdiocese in a telegram to Chaput.
"I offer my heartfelt condolences to you and to all the faithful of the archdiocese," the pope wrote. "I join you in commending the late cardinal's soul to God, the Father of mercies, with gratitude for his years of episcopal ministry among Christ's flock in Philadelphia, his longstanding commitment to social justice and the pastoral care of immigrants, and his expert contribution to the revision of the Church's law in the years following Vatican Council II."
Parishioners mourned the loss at services Wednesday, but acknowledged that his legacy would be complicated.
Julia Curcio, 27, who was attending church services at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, said she mourned his death, but struggled with the way he dealt with the church abuse case and his stance on homosexuality.
"It's hard for me to reconcile the way people like him act," Curcio said. "It's hard not to hold him responsible. You get the sense that he knew what was going on and could have stopped it."
"You can't think of the good things without the bad," she said.